New helmets provide pricey peace of mind for parents of youth football players

The football helmet cost more than $300, but its padded inner shell was a brand-new design that offered more protection against a concussion — or so its makers claimed. As Karl Kreshpane considered buying it, he walked into one of the biggest controversies in the game today — whether a helmet, no matter how well designed, can protect against debilitating concussions.

Kreshpane was sold. His son was the starting quarterback and a safety on Mahwah High School’s varsity team, positions that put him in the middle of a lot of hard tackles.

But when the back of Karl Jr.’s head smacked against the turf during a game three years ago, it was a type of blow that even this top-of-the-line helmet wasn’t able to cushion. It took about 10 months for the teen to fully recover from the speech and concentration troubles he experienced from the severe concussion that ended his football-playing days.

Kreshpane’s younger son is playing now, but he wears the helmet his town’s football league issued. That’s because Kreshpane, a former college player and longtime youth coach, no longer thinks buying the most expensive helmet buys a parent peace of mind.

“You want a good helmet,” he said. “But no helmet is concussion-proof. That’s what we learned.”

Almost every Sunday this season an NFL player has been taken off the field with a concussion, sometimes after horrific collisions, adding to the rising concern about head injuries in football. But the vast majority of football players in this country are youth players, and as experts debate whether there is such a thing as “safe” contact football, concerned parents who aren’t ready to pull their children off the gridiron are looking for any assurance they can find.

In some cases, that means spending hundreds of dollars on helmets experts say come with debatable claims that they can help reduce the risk of concussion.

Expensive upgrades

Growing concern about concussions has triggered a technology race among manufacturers to produce helmets that protect players, with new models coming out every year. High school programs and youth football clubs in North Jersey are snapping up these new helmets, which can cost from $100 to $400 for custom-fit models.

Don Bosco and Bergen Catholic’s powerhouse football programs are playing their nationally televised games in Riddell 360s, which come with intricate padding systems intended to absorb more of the force of a collision. The Riddell website lists the retail price as $376.99, though Bergen Catholic’s athletic director, Jack McGovern, said the manufacturer offered the school 20 of the new models at a steep discount, in part to get more product exposure.

In the youth leagues, teams are spending tens of thousands of dollars on the new helmets. Players in Fair Lawn are outfitted in Riddell Revolutions — one of the first helmets on the market that claimed to have “concussion reduction technology.” They are equipped with inflatable air bladders.

In Secaucus, Jason Elwell, coordinator of the recreation football program, prefers the Schutt DNA Pro models, which use a thermoplastic urethane cushioning rather than old-fashioned foam pads.

Some parents whose children play for teams that haven’t upgraded are buying helmets for their children rather than allowing them to use the free gear handed out by the teams.

The designs of these new helmets vary, but, in general, most have bigger outer frames that leave room for better cushioning on the inside to absorb more of the G-forces of a collision. In fact, Riddell — which markets itself as the official helmet of the NFL — claims its newer models lower the risk of concussion.

Researchers at the Virginia Tech School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, which began comparing the protective features of helmets nine years ago, have given several Riddell models top scores. The best helmets have the ability to slow the acceleration of a hit to the head, said the lead researcher, Stefan Duma.

“We are not saying any helmet can eliminate the risk of a concussion,” Duma said. “But with helmet manufacturing, it’s all about lowering the risk, and lowering the acceleration does lower the risk.”

But while the padding systems in the new helmets can indeed offer a better cushion to a player who suffers a head-on blow directly to the center of the helmet, concussions are more often the result of a rotational force or a whiplash-causing collision, said Michael Oliver, executive director of the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, the organization that tests and certifies all helmets that meet its performance standards. Sometimes, players can suffer concussions when there is no hit to the head at all, but instead a blow to the neck or chest that has such force that it snaps their heads violently, he said.

“They are designed to protect the skull, not the brain,” Oliver said.

Question claims

While even critics agree helmets are better now, they are concerned about the claims manufacturers make about their ability to protect athletes from head injuries. In fact, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall asked the Federal Trade Commission last year to investigate a statement on Riddell’s website that “research shows a 31 percent reduction in the risk of concussion in players wearing a Riddell Revolution football helmet when compared to traditional helmets.”

The senator, a Democrat from New Mexico, said the company had no evidence to support its claims. Riddell called the accusation “unfounded.”

“Our technological advancements and innovation continue to be validated by independent research,” Riddell officials said in a statement to The Record.

Manufacturers have begun to acknowledge the risks even as they market the protective qualities of their helmets. Last year Schutt put a disclaimer on its website that warns that no helmet can protect against serious head injuries.

“We believe that education of the public as to what football helmets can and can’t do is very important in the ongoing battle against concussions,” said Glenn Beckmann, a company spokesman. “There is much questionable information being put forth into the marketplace, and we believe that disclaimer is one very high-profile and important way we can increase the education of the public.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. has backed legislation he hopes will make youth sports safer. Last October, the Democrat from Paterson introduced the Children’s Sports Athletic Equipment Act, which would set new standards for new and reconditioned youth football helmets. The bill is in part a response to an FBI investigation that revealed that a helmet reconditioning company, Circle System, had failed to test properly the helmets used by a number of New Jersey school districts. The legislation also would set new civil penalties against manufacturers who make unproven claims about safety of their helmets.

Head-injury experts say parents and coaches need to learn the limits of helmets, as the Kreshpane family did, and rely more on making the style of play safer.

“If a player is wearing one of these new helmets and they are going to feel that they are more protected, then they might play more aggressively than they otherwise would,” Oliver said. “That’s actually putting them in more danger.”

Baseline testing

Led by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other medical groups, more youth and high school teams are promoting “heads up” play, designed to discourage the practice of a blocker leading with his head.

“Helmets are not the answer,” said Dr. Thomas Bottiglieri, an Englewood sports medicine physician who specializes in concussions. “Proper technique and avoidance of head contact is.”

As another way to prevent concussions from going unnoticed and untreated, most high schools in the state — as well as youth programs in places like Franklin Lakes, Clifton and Wyckoff — now require what’s known as baseline testing of athletes. This neurological screening test is given before the season begins and can be given again later to help gauge whether a player has suffered a concussion.

Wyckoff Recreation Director Andy Wingfield said most youth football officials now recognize a combination of efforts are needed to reduce the incidence and impact of concussions. Still the lure of the new helmets is hard for leagues to pass up. Two years ago, Wyckoff spent $32,000 to buy 300 new Riddell Revolution Speed helmets for its youth players, Wingfield said.

Few in the sport balk at the rising cost of helmets because no matter how accurate claims about concussion safety may be, today’s helmet models are easier to adjust and fit to a player’s head, which most experts agree is the most important factor in ensuring a helmet does its job.

“Years ago you just had these foam pads inside a helmet, and a kid would put one on and say, “It’s too tight” and then he’d put another on and say ‘It’s too loose,’Ÿ” said Charlie Johnston, president of Westwood Youth Football. “You’d just settle for what was the closest fit.”

Teams are more educated now about the different styles of helmets and the need to properly fit and maintain them. Dion Sims, president of the Fair Lawn-based Bergen County Knights, personally measured the heads of 120 players and fitted their Riddell Revolution helmets. He inspects the helmets weekly and, when needed, uses a rubber pump to refill the air pockets.

As a parent, Marc Juceam of Maywood isn’t really comforted by any of the changes in helmets or in the game. Juceam suffered a concussion in the first high school game he ever played, and it was bad enough to end his football days. Now, his 12-year-old son Jake is playing his first season, and Juceam acknowledges “that I pray every day that he stops playing.”

“I’m hoping he doesn’t like it,” he said, “and goes back to baseball.”